Field of the Invention
The present patent application is generally related to landscape lighting and landscape lighting fixtures, and is more specifically related to LED light fixtures and LED lamps that replace Par 36 halogen lamps and incandescent well lights.
Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, the history of low voltage landscape lighting would not be complete without paying tribute to the ubiquitous Par 36 Halogen lamps and incandescent well lights. These fixtures, because of the mounting canister and below grade orientation of the lamp face (which produce very wide beam angles that beautifully illuminate low wide plant material), the adjustability of the lamp from 0 horizontal to 22′ vertical, and the low cost to the consumer, paved the way for hundreds of thousands of landscape lighting installations all over the United States and Canada. Sealed beam Par 36 lamps are typically manufactured by melting together two pieces of glass and filling the void inside with inert argon gas. This lamp has the added benefit of being moisture-resistant and can withstand being completely submerged under several feet of water. Due to cost, durability and excellent light dissipation, this product makes up a great deal of the total number of low voltage decorative landscape lighting fixtures that are installed and sold.
With the advent of Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, a need exists to allow installers to retrofit existing halogen and incandescent Par 36 lamps that were originally installed in well light fixtures. LEDs are a better choice to replace these old lamps because of the high wattage consumed by the halogen and incandescent lamps (typically 35 to 20 watts), the relatively short lamp life of between 2,000 to 5,000 hours, and the labor required to maintain these systems. Referring to FIG. 2, most LED replacement lamp manufacturers have chosen to use the same legacy par 36 halogen dimensional lamp size when designing these LED replacements. In fact the majority of the LED par 36 lamps look strikingly similar to the Par 36 halogen lamps they replace. As a result, these Par 36 replacement LED lamps must be installed in a plastic housing and snap-fit into an accompanying gimbal ring in order to operate properly. Simply attaching the fork connector to the brass screw terminal and laying the LED lamp on the ground is not acceptable, is subject to damage, and would not be approved by UL since this is not in line with the intended use of the lamp as being part of a complete fixture.
Thus, there remains a need for improved LED light fixtures and LED lamps that replace Par 36 halogen lamps and incandescent well lights.